Oh my…. I’m just about speechless and hopelessly stuck in anticipation of seeing Bruce and the band live after hearing this version of “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” from the other night in Asbury Park. Oh my…..

If you sit still while listening to this, check your pulse, because most likely, you’re dead.

There’s a new Bruce / Seeger Sessions Band tune up on the Boss’ site taken from recent tour rehearsals in Asbury Park – “straight off the soundboard”. They have it streaming in Real, Quicktime, and WMA right now. Here’s a taste…
Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band: How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live? (mp3)

Here is an absolutely bizarre post I found on Boing Boing… wow, wonderful use of the University of Colorado’s law enforcement agency…. damn pot smokers!

Doug says: “Every year on 4/20, students and residents gather on Farrand Field at CU Boulder to defy the authorities and smoke marijuana publicly. This year, the University of Boulder Police Department fought back by taking pictures of as many participants as possible. They have a website with photos up, offering an $50 reward to anyone who positively identifies someone who was photographed. Nothing about what the authorities plan to do with the information is posted. Scary.”

This song has nothing to do with the subject matter at hand, but it sounded awfully good this morning when it randomly materialized…….
Kings of Convenience: Gold for the Price of Silver (mp3) – from Versus

My man Zach from Milwaukee has delivered yet again with a great live Marah video (see his previous offering). Recorded live at the Abbey Pub in Chicago, IL on February 17th of this year, here is Marah performing a Replacements song, “Can’t Hardly Wait”. Thanks Zach.

Gotta love the cigarettes and F bombs. Take it away….

Update: Check out this Dutch blog for some more video clips of Marah (04/22/06 Utrecht, The Netherlands)

One of the best concert weeks of my life was seeing Steve Earle play the West Hollywood House of Blues in the summer of 2000 with Marah as their opening act. A week later, I saw Marah at the small, sweat soaked Long Wongs in Tempe, AZ. Marah was hitting the road behind their great album ‘Kids in Philly’, which was released on Steve’s label, E Squared.

Thanks to Steve Earle, I became a big Marah fan, and remain so today (just saw them as they came through Phoenix in January).

In October of 1999, it was Marah’s coming out of sorts, as they joined Steve at a benefit for the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, playing the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA.

Intro by Steve Earle / Christian Street/ Head On Catfisherman Where The Dark Horses GoSleepwalk > Reservation GirlMy Heart Is The Bums On The StreetPoint BreezeThe History Of Where Someone Has Been KilledFaraway YouI Feel Alright*Transcendental Blues*State Trooper* [a couple of skips near the beginning.. sorry!]West Nashville Boogie*Ohio*
(* w/ Steve Earle)

There are a few recurring themes on this site that I unapologetically hammer at the masses. There’s Prince, there’s Springsteen, and there is Joe Strummer & The Clash. I came across a cool bootleg recently of what I guess would be called Sandanista-era Clash.

This May 9, 1981 show came five months after the release of their ambitious, extremely eclectic 3-LP juggernaut that was (and is) ‘Sandanista’. The album review on All Music has it just about right:

The Clash sounded like they could do anything on London Calling. For its triple-album follow-up, Sandinista!, they tried to do everything, adding dub, rap, gospel, and even children’s choruses to the punk, reggae, R&B, and roots rock they already were playing. Instead of presenting a band with a far-reaching vision, like London Calling did, Sandinista! plays as a messy, confused jumble, which means that its numerous virtues are easy to ignore.

While it doesn’t come close to the brilliance and magnitude of London Calling, it does have its moments (“The Call Up”, “The Magnificent Seven”, “Washington Bullets”, etc.), but it is a triple album of 36 songs for cryin’ out loud, so there’s bound to be some less than stellar moments (like a reworked “Career Opportunities” sung by children).

So anyhoo, the bootleg was recorded live in France. It’s great quality, and really captures their F**ing brilliance….The Clash live at Palais St. Sauveur, Lille in France
May 9, 1981

There was no better way to start off the last day of my vacation this morning than by watching the Boss and his Seeger Sessions Band perform “Jacob’s Ladder” on Good Morning America. I was seriously moved as Bruce and his 17 member band ripped the top off the convention center in Asbury Park, NJ and let the Lord’s light shineth down below (and I’m no religious dude, mind you). WOW. It was moving to see and hear. My two year old was yelling for more Bruce as it cut away to a commercial break. Can’t blame her, really. Boy, I really have my little girl on the right track!
Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band: Jacob’s Ladder (mp3) – live on Good Morning America, April 25th, 2006

Here’s a cool snapshot of Prince’s Minneapolis scene before he struck it big with ‘1999’, and BIG BIG with ‘Purple Rain’. The date is March 8th, 1982. Location: the Minneapolis club First Avenue, which Prince made famous two years later in the movie ‘Purple Rain’.

It’s a small club gig with a loose, intimate feel. Towards the end of the show, Prince brings up a few members of the time: Morris Day, Jesse Johnson (guitar), Jimmy Jam (keys), and Jellybean Johnson (drums). The banter is pretty funny. You can hear the competitive edge between Prince and Morris, as they go back and forth in between songs. Prince: “y’all can play, but this is my stage tonight!”; “you gotta play some rock and roll, don’t come up here playing that you know what.” Morris: “say man why don’t you take my comb, you could use it.” Jimmy Jam: “Time for the Time. Time to kick Prince off the stage.”

The first song that the Time kick into, “Dance to the Beat”, is an unreleased song that comes right out of the Prince “Delirious” playbook (and his B-side “Horny Toad”). Prince responds to that one with: “I didn’t like it….play something you know how to play”. So the Time get down and dirty and do what they do best, funkin’ it up with “The Stick”. The night ends with Prince’s “Partyup”, with Morris Day on the drums.

Here’s the set list from the gig. Check out “Sexuality” thru “Partyup”. Throw them together in order and listen in to a fun, carefree, groundbreaking era in Prince’s “Minneapolis Sound”.

I have to say, it’s good to hear Susanna Hoffs’ voice again. As lead singer of the Bangles until they disbanded in 1989, I had a big crush on her, watching her belt out “Walk Like an Egyptian” and Prince-penned “Manic Monday”. Here, admire her hotness:

She released a couple of solo albums in 1991 and 1996, but apparently has been flying well below the radar since. That is until now. Last Tuesday saw the release of ‘Under the Covers, Vol. 1’, a collaboration between Hoffs and Matthew Sweet. Their strong affection for 60’s pop music has always been evident in their own work, and they bring it together here by covering some classics by Dylan, the Beatles, the Mamas & Papas, Neil Young, among others.

But it’s this one that caught my ear recently, one of my favorite Velvet Underground songs, “Sunday Morning”. Hoffs and Sweet make this one their own, delivering a sweet, effortless flow that warms the listener like a nice warm blanket. Look at me being sappy.

Well, it’s been a good week. My second daughter was born into this world yesterday morning, right into my waiting hands. Words can’t describe it, my friends. The miracle of birth makes skeptics like me into believers. I only wish the world I’ve brought my daughters into was a very different place.

The music that is a natural accompaniment to great moments like these is the music of Bruce Cockburn. Since I discovered his vast catalog of music in the early 90’s, I have turned to Bruce’s music when I want peace, calm, inspiration, and gentle reason.

Other Bruce News: For you Sirius Satellite Radio subscribers, check out an exclusive interview with the Boss this Sunday. Details are here. An interesting note in this press release regarding the upcoming tour:

Each night, an all new evening of gospel, folk, and blues will be presented by Springsteen with the 17-member Seeger Sessions Band.